Defective Rarity
by David Rain
Summary: Flaws are defects. Defects are not tolerated among gem kind. Flaws make a gem different- something rare. Gem kind prizes rarity.
1. Defective Rarity

**Disclaimer: I do not own Steven Universe.**

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Flaws are not acceptable in gem society.

They make a gem imperfect. Imperfection is frowned upon. Flawed gems are to be destroyed upon discovery. It doesn't matter what type of gem. Pearl. Peridot. Ruby. Saphire. Quartz. Diamond.

 _Flaws are defects. Defects are not,can not and will not, be tolerated._

Of course, that doesn't stop some of the higher ranking,and more eccentric gems. Take Rose Quartz and her Pearl for example. Pearls are common. They have very little practical use. Rose saw a defect and made it into something important. Something defining.

Instead of a defect, it was an indicator of rarity.

 _Rarity is praised among gem kind._

Diamonds are the rarest among gem kind. They rank the highest. They are viewed as perfection. It's only natural they would take Rose Quartz lead on the matter- even after she rebelled.

Of course, the Diamonds couldn't have anyone thinking they sympathized with defective gems. They chose minor defects. One's so minor one would have to spend every waking moment with a Pearl to notice them. Personality defects that made the pearls more effective.

Take Yellow Diamonds Pearl. She is harsh. She is cruel and very much snide. If she can get away with being rude she will.

It's part of her defect.

Part of what makes her rare.

 ** _Gem kind prizes rarity above all else._**


	2. Cracked Diamonds

**Disclaimer: I do not own Steven Universe.**

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 **A/N:This is going to be a series of one-shots based on how flawed the homeworld gems we see are. How,for all their talk about flaws being defects they don't even notice their own imperfections.**

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Diamonds are viewed as perfection. Flawless. Defectless. In gem society, they are adored. They are very rare- and very few in number. The rarer a gem is, the more valued it is in gem society.

Of course, even the rarest of objects may be defined by their flaws.

If a gem were to call Yellow Diamond defective it would likely end with said gem being shattered for its presumptuous behavior.

That wouldn't make it any _less_ true.

Like her Pearl, Yellow Diamond is defective. Not in body but in mind. Yellow Diamond is harsh, cruel, arrogant, and above all else selfish. She wants what she want's when she wants it. Any reason as to why what she wants is bad, or wrong, is tossed aside without a second thought to.

Take the Cluster. She didn't need it. She wanted it. She didn't need to form it inside planet Earth, either. There are thousands of earth like planets that do not yet have organic life. She wanted the Earth destroyed. No matter what it cost her people. No matter what happened.

She is petty. Foul tempered even.

She is flawed.

Above all else she is selfish. It's why she chose such a deeply flawed Pearl after all.

Flaws make a gem unique. Being unique is the same as being rare.

Rarity is prized above all else.

Yellow Diamond is selfish.

That her Pearls defect makes the Pearl better at her duties doesn't matter to Yellow Diamond. Not Really.

Yellow Diamond is selfish. She wants to hoard rare things all to herself. She doesn't care about what happens to anyone else.

 _Yellow Diamond is selfish and that will be her downfall._

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 **A/N:** **Yellow Diamond is defined by greed thus far. That greed _will_ be her downfall. Thus far it's her fatal flaw. She wants and she wants and she doesn't care who she has to hurt to get it. (Who knows, she might take Steven,who is singularly unique, as a pet. Perhaps her Pearl will let Steven act up, or plant a seed in his head, that will bring them crashing down.)**


	3. Tarnished Jasper

**Disclaimer: I do not own Steven Universe.**

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Jasper was a type of Quartz. She was made for fighting. She's rough and tumble and,in another universe, could have been just like Amethyst.

She had no defining flaw upon creation. Perhaps a tad bit more acerbic than normal. A little bit less clear than her fellow Jaspers.

Millennium after minimum of fighting and gem dust took its toll. She became tarnished.

Her actions less fluid. Rougher. Less clean and sharper. Crueler.

She became rash.

Her loyalty let Yellow Diamond overlook her flaws,in the beginning. Her defects. Let her overlook how foggy her gemstone was. How foggy her mind was.

Out of all of Yellow Diamond's higher fighters,out of all of her warriors and tacticians and generals, Jasper was her favorite.

Her gemstone may be tarnished. That just made her more unique.

Yellow Diamond is selfish. She wants to keep all the rare things to herself.

Jasper is unique. That makes Jasper rare.

That makes Jasper important.

Because out of all gem kind despises defects they prize rarity.

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 **A/N: Because Jasper comes across as someone Yellow Diamond seems possessive of. At the same time, Jasper is experienced. My guess is that Jasper was originally your normal Jasper. Shiny things stop being shiny eventually and by then Yellow Diamond already placed enough value in her that,instead of her knee-jerk reaction of shattering jasper, she kept jasper. Think rich hunter that owns this really old show dog that also hunts. The dog gets a flaw and can no longer be shown. Because it's a good hunting dog the hunter keeps it instead of putting it down. If that makes any sense**


	4. Preterm Peridot

**Disclaimer: I do not own Steven Universe.**

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Peridot was a preterm gem, most Peridots are.

Forced to form far too soon by homeworld.

If Amythist is overcooked it can be said Peridot is undercooked.

Homeworld needed a way to keep Peridots obedient. A Peridot who was disobedient would be disastrous- you do not want a gem that can destroy your systems and tech to be capable of conceiving of doing so.

So they kept Peridot as a child.

All gems are fully grown when they form. Except Peridots.

They really are just children.

That makes them controllable.

Like all children when left alone, without adult supervision, Peridot grew wild.

When lost and alone and in fear for her life, she discovered that Steven might be able to get her home she went to him, like a child going to an adult they knew but didn't particularly like when lost.

Like all children Peridot has morals and can see the difference between right and wrong when presented with the truth.

When she needed a role model Peridot chose the best role model available, like any human child.

 _Peridot chose Steven._

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 **A/N: Its cannon that gems are fully grown when they form. They don't pop out as children. While Amythist is wild, she behaves more like a young adult that is still rebelling whenever possible( Mostly to annoy people. She's capable of being serious. She just doesn't like doing so. Think 21-year-old college student who wants to party and have fun all the time.). Peridot doesn't. She acts like a human child. She looks like a child- more so than any gem we've seen. Even Ruby and Saphire look like little adults compared to her. They don't have the same childlike edge she does.**

 **It's not really a flaw to be a child, but homeworld would certainly see it as one. Unless they deliberately made a gem form too early, to be like children mentally and physically. Children are easy to manipulate. They believe anything. See Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, and the easter bunny, as examples. If you tell a child monsters will eat them if they go outside after dark and no one corrects them they will believe it until they find proof otherwise.**

 **Preterm gems are considered flawed unless it was deliberate on the part of homeworld.**


End file.
